The second World Islamic Summit on Education (WISE) held in July 2022 in the holy city of Mashhad represented a historic milestone for Islamic schooling worldwide. Over 100 Islamic school leaders and educators from 17 countries gathered for three days of intensive dialogues, collectively illuminating the challenges, creative solutions, and future possibilities emerging in the field of Islamic education.
Recognizing the immense value of systematically documenting such a momentous summit, the WISE organizing team expended great efforts to convert the extensive oral presentations and discussions into written form. The resulting WISE proceedings stand as a seminal text that will inshallah become an indispensable resource for Islamic educational institutions across the globe.
By disseminating these proceedings, WISE aims to catalyze advancement in Islamic education through cross-pollination of insights between institutions and thought leaders across continents. As expressed in the WISE Charter ratified at the summit’s outset, “A summit dedicated to interaction among Islamic schools will lead to the acquaintance, mutual transfer of knowledge, growth, progress, and unity of participants. Creating and expanding such a network is a sapling which will nurture into a sturdy tree, inshallah.”
It is our sincere hope that this meticulously compiled record of the summit’s proceedings will contribute profoundly to realizing that vision. By bolstering mutual understanding and facilitating ongoing idea exchange, we can empower one another to provide the advanced Islamic schooling our youth desperately need to serve God and humanity amidst an increasingly complex world.
The World Islamic Summit on Education: A Watershed Event
WISE emerged from a recognized need for global platforms dedicated to the advancement of Islamic education. While many Islamic educational conferences convene regionally, WISE was conceived as a truly international summit that could synergize dispersed efforts to uplift Islamic schooling worldwide.
The wise organizing team spent over a year carefully designing a summit format that would stimulate multifaceted dialogues and critical reflection on educational philosophy, illuminating pathways forward. Their aim was to catalyze a revival of intellectual discourse, ambition, and collective dedication to propelling Islamic educational institutions to new heights of excellence.
Mashhad, home to the shrine of Imam Reza, was selected as a fitting spiritual locus to convene this momentous summit. The holy presence of the eighth Shia Imam served as an inspiration reminding participants of the sacred educational legacy inherited from the Infallibles. Amongst the inheritors of this legacy were over 100 school leaders, scholars, administrators, principals, and pioneers representing a diversity of institutions from South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America.
For three intensive days, participants engaged in an enlightening exchange of insights, experiences, and innovative visions. The open, mutually supportive environment encouraged candid discussion of common challenges and creative solutions being attempted across contexts. A spirit of ambition was palpable, with a shared commitment to surpassing entrenched limitations in Islamic schooling.
Realizing the need to systematically document the summit’s extensive proceedings, WISE organizers transcribed all presentations and discussions. This written record was then synthesized into published papers encapsulating the key concepts and recommendations from each speaker. A corresponding journalistic-style report was also produced for wider dissemination.
The resulting WISE proceedings compile these meticulously developed textual resources from over 30 thought leaders. By converting the rich oral discourse of the summit into written wisdom, this text will inshallah become a seminal reference work to propel advancements in Islamic educational philosophy and praxis worldwide.
A Vision to Reshape Islamic Education Globally
WISE aims through this proceedings volume to catalyze a renaissance in Islamic educational thought and practice. Despite representing diverse institutional contexts, the unifying thread amongst presentations was an untiring commitment to educational excellence and cultivation of wisdom.
By disseminating this text across institutions, WISE hopes to cross-pollinate insights between schools, scholars, and communities across continents. As expressed in the WISE Charter, networking between Islamic educational institutions to share knowledge and experiences will nurture collective growth and progress. Rather than dissipating energies through disconnected efforts, greater coordination can leverage synergies.
The WISE summit has reinvigorated intellectual reflection, aspiration, and strategic deliberation regarding how Islamic schools can fulfill their sacred purpose of nurturing faithful, ethically-grounded young leaders. The thoughtful presentations within these pages offer insights on reviving Islamic educational philosophy and progressing towards enlightened institutional models.
By carefully examining traditional assumptions, reflecting on current practices, and integrating creative perspectives, Islamic education can be dynamically reconstructed both conceptually and practically. WISE aims for this proceedings text to provide the conceptual seeds and universal perspectives that participating institutions worldwide can contextualize to transform Islamic schooling globally.
Exploring the State of Islamic Education Worldwide
A striking feature of the WISE summit was the diversity of institutions and perspectives represented. The open sessions facilitated by trained facilitators enabled participants to learn from one another’s unique experiences. By sharing challenges, solutions, and aspirations, a vivid composite portrait of the state of Islamic schooling worldwide emerged.
The geography of participating institutions spanned South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. Each region faces unique cultural, political, and resource factors shaping the development of Islamic schooling. For instance, sectarian tension poses obstacles in some contexts, while secularization and assimilation to mainstream culture are concerns in others.
However, despite immense contextual differences, common themes and challenges united participants from Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, and elsewhere. All expressed a deep sense of duty as inheritors of the sacred legacy of prophetic education, which serves as the fundamental purpose of Islamic schools. The need to reimagine Islamic education to effectively prepare youth for modern realities resonated across institutions.
By transcending parochial interests, WISE offered participants a broader view of the global landscape of Islamic education. The ability to learn from international peers, discover shared challenges, and exchange creative solutions catalyzed critical reassessment of educational models and outcomes. By facilitating out-of-the-box thinking and ambition, WISE has inshallah planted seeds to reinvigorate Islamic educational ecosystems worldwide.
Reimagining Islamic Education for Modern Contexts
A prominent theme emerging from WISE deliberations was the urgent need to reimagine Islamic education to fulfill its purpose in radically different modern realities. While inheriting and preserving Islamic educational traditions remains vital, participants agreed that deep reforms are needed to prepare Muslim youth for contemporary challenges.
Presentations problematized how Islamic schools often replicate outmoded pedagogies centered on rote learning and ritualistic practice. Developing the intellectual dynamism, creativity, and spiritual self-awareness needed to synthesize Islamic ethics and modernity requires evolved approaches. Participants called for holistic pedagogies integrating spirituality across curriculum and activities to nurture wisdom and engagement.
Education must address both intellectual and spiritual faculties by harmonizing revealed knowledge and modern academics within an Islamic paradigm. Orthodoxy and openness can be balanced by teaching higher-order analysis skills rooted in ethical grounding. Schools have a duty to graduate young Muslims able to be positive change agents guided by faith.
Revitalizing Islamic educational thought is thus urgent. By deconstructing limiting assumptions and critiquing the undue transplantation of foreign instititutional models, WISE participants believe Islamic schools can rediscover creative dynamism true to their spiritual and intellectual heritage. The possibilities emerging from summit dialogues offer hope that Islamic education can fulfill its sacred purpose in modern times.
Navigating Diverse Perspectives
While passionate about their individual visions, WISE participants exemplified openness to diverse viewpoints, engaging in constructive dialogue. Facilitated group sessions enabled leaders from different schools to share concerns, debate ideas, and discover common ground. Rather than factionalism, the spirit of fellowship and good-faith pluralism enabled rewarding exchanges.
Contributors spanned spiritual seminaries focused on religious sciences, private Islamic academies aiming for top secular rankings, schools under Muslim organization administration, and public government-accredited Islamic institutions. Through respectful interaction, appreciation grew for the diverse assets and perspectives represented in this microcosm of the global Islamic schooling landscape.
By hearing one another’s unique journeys and challenges, previously siloed educators found inspiration and realized opportunities for cooperation. While unity was valued over conformity, the richness of approach provided renewed motivation to uplift Islamic education as a connected global community. The textured discourse within these pages reflects the sincere efforts of leaders across the spectrum to rejuvenate Islamic schooling worldwide.
Bridging Global Diversity at the Mashhad Summit
The WISE summit facilitated invaluable dialogues between Islamic schools from widely varied contexts. Educators from India connected with peers in African nations and the United States, comparing educational approaches and experiences. Inspiring models from Indonesia resonated with schools in Canada and the United Kingdom. Practices grounded in local cultures intersected, enabling appreciation of diversity within shared Islamic ideals.
Notably, the summit enabled critical reflection on arriving at educational frameworks truly rooted in Islamic ethics and pedagogy vs. transplanting of secular academic models. By bringing Indian, African, and Western institutions together, these complex discussions were enriched by multidimensional perspectives. The intimacy of discourse at WISE illuminated pathways to develop contextualized Islamic educational paradigms that meet modern needs without compromising spiritual and intellectual heritage.
Major Themes and Recommendations
The WISE proceedings present a panoramic snapshot of issues and perspectives impacting Islamic schooling circa 2022 CE from local, regional and global lenses. While each presentation comprises unique insights, several salient themes and recommendations recurred throughout the summit. The following provides a thematic overview of the vital discourses encapsulated within these pages:
- Leadership Development for Students and Educators
Multiple presentations focused on frameworks for developing conscientious, spiritually-grounded leaders to steer institutions. Leadership training for heads of school was discussed. Importantly, schools were also encouraged to provide students with opportunities to develop teamwork, public speaking, community service and organizational skills as future leaders.
- Cultivating Spirituality and Ethics
Instilling Islamic ethics was viewed as an educational priority equal to intellectual learning. Presentations encouraged integrating spiritual development across school culture, modeled by teachers and reinforced through mentoring. Creating environments where students exemplify Qur’anic virtues such as wisdom, humility and service was emphasized throughout.
- Reimagining Pedagogy and Curriculum
Presentations critiqued rigid, text-focused pedagogies centered on knowledge transmission versus holistic learning. Schools were encouraged to evolve beyond outmoded models by exploring student-centered, reflective, and experiential approaches that develop intellect and character in balance. Updating Islamic curriculum to address contemporary questions and equip youth for modern contexts was also discussed.
- Teacher Development
The critical role of highly trained teachers capable of exemplifying Islamic ethics while delivering academic excellence was emphasized by multiple speakers. Presentations encouraged teacher mentoring, creating professional development ecosystems, and sharing best practices between institutions to continuously build teacher capacity.
- Leveraging Technology
Innovation in educational technology was proposed as a key opportunity to enhance learning and expand access. Examples included leveraging online resources and platforms while ensuring holistic development. Developing high-quality Islamic digital content and creative blended models were highlighted for their potential to transform Islamic education.
- Community and Parent Engagement
Presentations emphasized the need for greater community and parent involvement in Islamic schools. With education as a collective duty, improving awareness, developing relationships, and creating participatory channels can help schools gain resources and better fulfill their mission.
- Financial Sustainability
The practicalities of funding high-quality Islamic education were discussed extensively. Calls were made for creative solutions including microfinance, crowd-funding, alumni networks, business partnerships and government support mechanisms where possible. Participants agreed financial constraints should not deter institutions from pursuing educational excellence.
Call to Action for the Global Muslim Community
The passionate deliberations, critical reflections and creative visions articulated within this volume aim to revitalize discourse on Islamic educational reform. By documenting the extensive proceedings of the inaugural WISE summit, the organizing team hopes to enable ongoing reciprocal illumination between institutions across continents.
WISE has sparked a revival of intellectual energy and ambition to actualize Islamic schooling that lives up to its sacred purpose. The world Islamic community now has a responsibility to determine how to apply the universal insights articulated here to transform educational ecosystems locally, regionally and globally.
Our collective future as a faith community depends on the millions of young minds in our care. The thoughts catalyzed through this summit must bloom into solutions that can uplift Islamic schools worldwide to the advanced levels required in modern times. By embracing ambition, cooperation and a ceaseless commitment to excellence, our sacred educational legacy can be honored while evolving dynamically to meet contemporary challenges.
We invite you to immerse yourself in the presentations from this watershed summit and reflect deeply on their implications. Education is a process without end. Just as WISE itself only represents the inception of a new phase in Islamic educational thought, so too will the journey continue beyond these pages. May the perspectives you encounter plant seeds that blossom into the solutions needed to elevation Islamic schooling in your particular context. Only through collective dedication can the landscape of Islamic education reach new heights for generations to come, insha’Allah.